Get Kerry Walking in Killarney.

Well it’s that time of the year again, when the marketeers take time out from pushing calories onto us and it’s the turn of the keep fit experts and dieticians to whip us into shape.

On the back of the Operation Transformation RTE programme, we entered in to the 3rd “Get Kerry Walking” day in Killarney National Park.

Signing on

The warm up

The numbers seemed down on the previous years. Possibly the 10 am start? or no Kerry person talking part in the show? Only the stay aways can answer that!

Setting off

The whole organisation of the event was put together very well, with something like 3 signing on tents along the starting point on Mission Road in Killarney. This was accompanied by hot drinks to get everyone in the mood.

Before the real stuff of walking got underway we had a fun 5 minute warm up, from our host Cora and the usual safety talk.

Strolling alongside the River Deenagh

The walk got under way just after 10 o’clock and headed up the closed Mission Road and into the National Park near the Cathedral. Once in the Park the walk split with the 5 km and 10 km walks taking different directions. We took the 10 km route which had a high number of people accompanying us.

Near Leibherr

The walk followed the River Deenagh over a flat route and headed in the direction of Fossa. Once we had Leibherr in sight we took a left and headed through the picturesque Killarney Golf Club. From here, we had a fabulous view of the snow capped Reek’s and the local lakes. By this stage the bulky nature of the walk started thinning out as we moved from the paths to a more open ground.

Killarney Golf Club entrance

The Golf Club and snow capped Reeks

Once leaving the Golf Course and back to the National Park the rain and hailstone came down. Luckily we where prepared and had the right gear with us. Parts of the walkway got a bit messy towards the end but it wasn’t a problem. This year we finished up close to Deenagh Lodge with the usual fanfare of a running commentary, the encouraging words and the giant inflatable finishing arch.

The finish line

Again a big well done to Cora and all the volunteers for doing such a great job. This is always a nice event to attend and always a good buzz.

One of the famous Lakes

Swollen river Deenagh

Overall a little sad to see the numbers down slightly, but still a nice crowd. I also got the perception that a high percentage of people seemed to be quite fit and walking at a good pace. I have to ask the question:

Are the people the Operation Transformation Walk is aimed at, actually turning up in the numbers we’d all like to see?

I forgot my Garmin. This is last years route. The 2015 route was more or less the same walking route.